Paramount has dated a handful of titles, including Teyana Taylor’s directorial debut, Get Lite, set for February 2027, and Potsy Ponciroli’s “The Rescue” — a modern-day Western starring Brandon Sklenar — which is slated for January 2027.
Then there’s Jonathan Levine’s “Mr. Irrelevant,” set to hit theaters on December 25, 2026, and signaling the studio’s confidence in this film which is coming off a very successful test screening.
This inspirational story stars David Corenswet (“Superman”) as John Tuggle, who was picked last in the 1983 draft by the New York Giants. Levine directs a cast that also includes Michael Shannon and Isabel May. Tuggle, who died of cancer in 1986, played for a single season but had a large impact on his team.
This is quite the ballsy move on Paramount’s part, because this year’s Christmas corridor (Dec. 19–25) is packed with “Avengers: Doomsday,” “Dune: Part III,” and Robert Eggers’ “Werewulf.” Can a John Tuggle biopic become a sleeper hit?
Levine has a reliable track record—in 2011, he directed the well-reviewed stoner-cancer dramedy “50/50” and the holiday stoner comedy “The Night Before,” which has quietly become a rewatch favorite during the Christmas season. He also helmed the hit comedy “Long Shot,” which starred Charlize Theron alongside Seth Rogen. “Warm Bodies,” his well-received 2013 zombie comedy, was also a hit at the box office ($118M).
It makes me wonder why Levine hasn’t helmed a feature in over seven years. I get it—he’s been busy directing almost every episode of his Hulu series “Nine Perfect Strangers,” with Nicole Kidman—but a comeback to cinema will soon happen, in 10 months’ time.